Piri Thomas' "Down These Mean Streets"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, in Piri Thomas' book "Down These Mean Streets", the protagonist's struggle is not rooted in the need to define his masculinity so much as in the need to define himself. Piri relates that, in the barrio environment of Harlem in which he grew up, masculinity is a huge part of who a Latin male is. The paper describes how Piri was able to overcome the sexist attitudes of his environment and the struggle to achieve identity through masculinity by renouncing his struggle itself. Instead, he focused on the internal qualities of human beings that are not attached to value judgments about physical characteristics, such as gender and rituals of gender.

From the Paper:

"When Piri went to prison, he began on his journey of catharsis to realize that the associations, attitudes and measures of value that he had learned as a child in his environment were false. The institutional effect on all human beings was an equalizing factor, just like the effects of the pussy that is no color and has the same common effect on men. These are particular forms of messages for Piri that demonstrate there are greater forces at work than just the specific street culture that indicates to him how he is validated according to his world that would make him a hombre."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Falzone, Nick. (1998) Speaker addresses diversity, unity in Latino/a community. Retrieved September 23, 2008: http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/1998/nov/11-23-98/news/news11.html.
• Kimmel, Michael. "Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity." Race, Class, and Gender in the United States, 7th Edition. Ed. Paula Rothenberg. NJ: Worth Publishers, 2007.
• Thomas, Piri, Down These Mean Streets, Knopf, New York 1967

More papers on Piri Thomas' "Down These Mean Streets":

• Book Review # 116549 : "Down These Mean Streets"
• Analytical Essay # 56921 : "Down These Mean Streets"
• Essay # 20158 : "The Culture of Suffering"

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